Our decision to move to living in Cardiff was made for a variety of reasons. However, I want to be really open about the fact that living a more affordable life was a large part of that. Moving to Cardiff from Bristol was something we spoke about years back when our family had expanded. Whilst we didn’t go ahead with the move five years ago it definitely planted a seed in our minds about the possibilities over the bridge.
Living in Cardiff – A financial decision
Like many families when Covid hit our lives our bank account was also impacted. Being self-employed we received no help from the government and whilst we were lucky in so many ways during this period we definitely also certainly had our struggles.
Living in Cardiff – How have we found it
How Home Educating impacted our decision financially
Those of you who follow our lives here and on IG will know this was also the year we made the decision to pull our children out of school and embark on a new adventure of home education. Whilst we are so thankful for the opportunity to change our lives in this way, it also comes with sacrifices. When we moved to our larger home in Bristol we both had a decent amount of work coming in from our businesses. Ironically 2020 was to be the year both our children would be in school full-time. Meaning we would have more childcare in which to work.
Whilst home education doesn’t need to be expensive, the way we home-educate involves drop-offs like forest school as well as various activities and groups. It involves traveling and learning resources and days out. It’s an incredible experience for our family and one we all want to continue with. However, adding this new living expense onto our finances which had already taken a hit was taking its toll.
The catalyst to us really looking into selling our home was when mortgage rates proposed adding an extra £500 to our mortgage. With this increase and the rest of the cost of living, we had to accept that something needed to give in a big way.
Moving outside of Bristol
Having lived in Bristol for fifteen years thinking about leaving was a big thing to get our heads around. We did initially look to downsize to cheaper areas on the outskirts of the city however this wouldn’t work for us for a couple of reasons. Not being able to drive was the biggest obstacle but also that if we chose to live in a city we want to be able to able to experience really living IN the city.
Whilst Bristol will always have a huge space in my heart we are also really up for experiencing new places. Working for ourselves means this can pretty much be anywhere so our main priority was to find a place that would have a great home ‘school’ community.
Choosing Wales
Moving to Cardiff Wales in general as a cheaper option is not a privilege that I’m unaware of. Living in Bristol and having people from London move in and push up prices, I am aware of the issues. Adding to that of course the privilege of being English & moving to Wales. Although, I hasten to tell everyone how I grew up in Aberystwyth and have a Welsh father!
There is no comfortable way to say our reasons for moving where to afford a better quality of life here. It’s awkward in so many ways, and yet here I am saying it. (Please don’t cancel me!)
Moving to Cardiff to be mortgage-free?
Whilst we aren’t quite ‘mortgage free’ we have reduced our mortgage to only £50,000 which feels like a really attainable amount to pay off. In our previous mortgage, we owed £250,000, the difference in our monthly payments is around £800 a month. It feels very un-British to talk about money but obviously, this element has impacted our lives hugely.
Add to this the cost of living in Cardiff in general is substantially less than in Bristol.
Cardiff is brilliant!
Moving to Cardiff is a decision we made for a number of reasons but I’m so happy to say that so far we have been so happy with our choice. Cardiff is an amazing city and we are only just starting to discover how fantastic it is living in cardiff. People here have been incredibly welcoming and we have found a great support system already. We can wait to discover more and settle into our new home!
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